Blood and Strawberries
by Anon Y. Mous Shy
Summary: One-Shot. Who was the first person to call L 'L' ? Where did L's obsession with sweets come from? Why does L like strawberries so much? A little girl drags a six year old L to her house. A simple yet significant friendship ensues.


Anon Y. Mous Shy: I wrote this after a friend of mine ranted about her favorite character in Death Note, L, even though I've never watched it, this is a story that I came up with that my friend said would make a cute one-shot. Again, I know very little about Death Note, but this is for my friend who simply adores L, enjoy this fanfiction, but be prepared for a sad ending.

* * *

It was pouring, the rain falling in icy sheets to the city's streets. The ominous dark, grey sky loomed over the only person who dared to be out in this weather. She was running, her honey brown pig-tails were bouncing up and down as her pink rubber boots splashed in the puddles. Her similarly pink rain coat was covered in dirty water, splashed up from the small pools of water on the sidewalk. She had an umbrella in her right hand, its once white and fluffy rim now brown from being dragged halfway across the city. In her left hand resided a plastic bag with a container of strawberries. The perfectly ripe fruits were nudged gently from side to side as she ran. Her hazel eyes were clenched shut, angry tears mixed with rain stained her face. She finally stopped by a park, gasping for breath. The girl picked up her umbrella, and did her best to control her sobs while clutching the strawberry container closer to her chest. Though still breathing heavily, after a few moments of walking, the girl's seemingly endless flow of tears had subsided to a sniffle. She began to feel better as she continued to walk down the side walk. The girl walked by a park bench and hear it sneeze. She stopped walking and blinked a few times running the sound over again in her head.

"Benches don't get sick…" She murmured as she slowly turned to face the bench. She walked over to it and glared harshly at it. When nothing happened, she set the container of strawberries down on top of the wooden bench and precariously balanced her umbrella over them while she knelt on her hands and knees to see what or who was under the bench. What she saw both surprised and confused her. Half hidden by bushed, a small boy, about five or six, the same age as her sat with his knees pulled up against his chest and his arms wrapped around them. His gaunt, tired looking navy blue eyes were half lidded and obscured by his mess of raven hair. His white t-shirt and pants hung loosely on his thin frame, clearly a size or two too big. The girl simply knelt there for a moment, observing the shivering boy in the rain.

"Hello!" she said suddenly, startling the boy. He gazed at her, his twilight orbs recognizing her presence for the first time. Though he still shivered from the cold, he felt…a warmth of sorts in his chest. A feeling he had long ago acknowledged as hope, a feeling that was only to be shattered after a moment of bliss. The girl continued to smile goofily at the boy until he pointed a finger at himself and she nodded.

"I'm Ichigo, Hikari Ichigo. What's your name?" she asked, lying flat on the ground, her head resting upon her propped up elbows. The boy continued to stare at her, wondering if she was feeling unwell perhaps. He sneezed again, convincing himself it might be he who was ill.

"Lawliet, just Lawliet." He responded, his voice hoarse and rough from its lack of use. Ichigo frowned, sending the boy into an inward panic, wondering if he had done something wrong.

"I'm going to call you L because Lawliet is too long." She said, her goofy smile illuminating her features. "Lawliet L, L Lawliet, Lawliet L…" she continued repeating his name, confusing the newly dubbed 'L' greatly. As if on cue, L's stomach moaned loudly. Ichigo put her hand on her chin before pointing her finger upward and smiling even wider than before. She pulled herself out from under the bench and knelt in front of the bench, opening the container of strawberries. She pulled out one of the fruits. Going back down to L, she held it in her out stretched hand. L stared at it as if it would grow fangs and eat him. Ichigo sat there smiling until an awkward silence enveloped them under the bench. "It's a strawberry. You know, an ichigo. You eat the red part and throw away the stem." L continued to cautiously observe the fruit until Ichigo pulled her hand back and bit off a small portion of the strawberry. "See? It's yummy. I won't hurt you." She said holding her hand out to him again. He tentatively reached out with his delicate looking fingers then quickly snatched it away. Ichigo continued smiling as he warily took a bite out of the strawberry, the sugary pulp flooding his sense of taste. L then proceeded to hastily devour the fruit.

"More?" he asked quietly. Little did he know, Ichigo had a plan forming in her head. She stuck out her tongue and wagged her finger at him.

"You have to follow me if you want more." She said as she stood up, quickly hiding the container of strawberries under her coat. Ichigo picked up her umbrella spun it about, causing rain drops to fly in every direction. She turned her back and waited until she hear the rustle of movement behind her. She rotated back around quickly and peered back under the bench, only to find that L was gone. Frowning, she stood back up and started to walk back to her home, knowing father would be furious after she had run off from the market after their fight. She couldn't even remember what they were fighting about. Ichigo was so preoccupied trying to remember why she had run off in the first place to notice a little raven haired boy following her home.

* * *

Ichigo stood in front of her front door, deciding how to enter. She couldn't just waltz in and say,

"Sorry I ran away, even though I forgot what we were arguing about. Oh, and the reason it's way past supper time and I'm coming home now? I met a nice little boy hiding under the park bench so I gave him one of the strawberries Mother was going to use in a pie for us to eat." No, she would not be able to say that, not with her father around. The thing was, her father isn't her father, her Mother calls him 'Darling,' and 'Sweetheart' but to Ichigo, he is the man who is not her father, merely an oversized rat with a very convincing human disguise. She was smart enough to know her mother cried herself to sleep at night thinking about her first husband who didn't even stay around more than a year after Ichigo's birth. Ichigo also knew that her father would be livid the second she came through the door, so she stood there. In the rain, outside of her own home, waiting for her mother to notice she was there and open the door before her father opened it. Fortunately for the hazel eyed girl, the sound of yelling followed by a few crashed told her that the man was fighting with her mother again. Slowly, Ichigo opened the door, her umbrella somehow still in her hand. Peering around the door, she cautiously closed it behind her, the hinges giving the ever so quietest squeal of delight. If her door could talk, which it can't hence its lack of a mouth, it would say,

"I can't wait for your father to turn around see you! Dripping wet, tracking mud onto the carpet, with those strawberries you weren't supposed to take any of! Oh, come see her! She's a filthy mess who deserves punishment!" But the door nor its hinges remained silent that evening, therefore, the door did not talk even though it could not talk because it did not have a mouth.

Confused? Stop reading this and read it again, then you may read the next paragraph.

Slowly taking off her shoes, Ichigo set the plastic bag with the open container of strawberries on the floor, the wrinkle of the plastic drowned out by the furious yelling her mother was making. Taking off her jacket and putting her umbrella down with the same caution, she tip-toed to the den, where her parents were arguing. She stood there in the door way, listening to their colorful language until her mother caught sight of her, shivering, her golden brown locks soaked.

"Ichi!" she exclaimed, throwing the man who was not Ichigo's father out of the loop for a moment before he realized their 'conversation' was over. "What happened? Daddy says you ran away from him at the store, we were so worried." Ichigo knew what she really meant to say was, "What happened? The overgrown sewer rat said you ran away after he slapped you for trying to run away from him, I was so worried!" But, her mother had not said that, she went to the kitchen and came back with towels and rags to dry the sopping girl's now drenched yellow sun dress. Ichigo stood there for a moment, her father staring her down, his face saying,

"You are going to pay you insufferable little maggot." But he managed to conceal that behind 'concerned' eyes. Ichigo had nicked named him Sewer Rat because of his likeness to the rodent. He was thin, he had a pointy nose, his yellow eyes always hungry and malevolent. He also dressed in a fashion that reminded Ichigo of a rat, a gray and black suit that went with his oily, thinning black hair and mustache. Even his spindly arms and sharp nails appeared to be those of a sickly mouse, although Ichigo knew better than to be in the same room alone with him. Her mother came in not a second to soon, any longer and the yelling would have started. Her mother knelt in front of her, her soft features full of true compassion and care. Her mother's black eyes and similarly dark hair were dull and lifeless most of the time, from her hours toiling as a seamstress. Ichigo stood patiently as her mother picked up the strawberries.

"I'm going to reheat supper, would you want any Ichi?" she asked, her soothing tone reassuring Ichigo. The man who called himself her father stepped behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, digging his sharp, vermin like claws into her skin, drawing blood.

"I think I'm not hungry, Mother." Ichigo said, forcing casualness into her words. Her father released his vice-like grip on her shoulder and tilted his head ever so slightly to the staircase which led to, big surprise, the second floor of their house. "I'm tired, I think I'm going to go to bed." Ichigo said as she headed up the stairs. The second she was out of her parents' sight, she bolted for her room. The second she was inside, the door of her room was slammed shut and locked, with three different locks. She stood there for a moment, gasping for breath, her back against the door as if the rat who was masquerading as her father would somehow gain inhuman strength and break the door. After a moment, she sank to the ground and leaned her head against the door so that she could look out her window. The normal greyish light that would be penetrating the darkness of her room was being blocked by something. Squinting, Ichigo recognized the ebony hair and midnight blue eyes immediately. She then did what any rational person would do if a strange boy was sitting in their window.

She shrieked.

"What the heck are you-!" she stopped herself, knowing that if her father who wasn't her father heard, both of them would be given punishments. "How did you…?"

"Find your home?" he asked, his monotonous voice a low baritone. "I followed you, just like you said. Now give me another strawberry." He was still balancing on the edge of the window sill, precariously rocking in and out of her room.

"Ah!" she said, the words sinking in. "Come inside!" She stood up and turned on the light, illuminating her room in its soft golden luminosity. Her room was pastel pink, the walls covered with fairy stickers. Every inch of the ceiling was covered in glow in the dark plastic stars and dream catchers of every color and size. In the far corner of her room was a white bed, covered by at least two dozen or so stuffed animals. And at the head of the bed, sat a giant, fluffy, stuffed panda. L jumped in, the bright colors making him slightly uncomfortable. Ichigo surveyed her immense collection of stuffed animals and took the giant panda from the bunch. She set it down at L's feet and pointed at it.

"Hug the panda." She commanded, her face entirely serious.

"Where's my strawberry?" L asked, the stuffed panda staring at him, its wide black eyes seemed to sparkle. Ichigo's face fell for a moment before returning to her normal brightness.

"I'll go get it later, but first," she realized that she had never actually answered his question. "How did you get up here? It's a second story window."

"The fire escape." He said nonchalantly, as if it had been obvious. Ichigo blinked, remembering the house they lived in had a fire escape because of building code in the area, not that a five year old should know that.

"Oh…right. Um, I'll get your strawberry in a minute, but shouldn't you call your parents? You know, to go home and go to sleep, it's almost time for me to go to bed so I just thought that later, when you get sleepy…." She quieted, knowing her father would be furious that she brought a kid back home, let alone a boy.

"I don't have a home to go back too, or parents to pick me up." He said, his face stoic and his eyes weary. Ichigo paused for a moment, something constricting inside her, though she recognized it as pity. She smiled softer and nodded.

"Okay, I'll make you a bed, where do you want to sleep? You can have my bed if you want." She suggested. L shook his head as he backed to the open window.

"I think I'll sleep outside, if that's okay with you?" he said, the idea of sleeping in the same room as a girl, let alone that fact that she had offered her bed to him.

"Ah! I'll put some blankets out there for you!" she said as she began gathering up a large comforter from her closet. L merely watched as she went back and forth from the window and her room grabbing blankets and pillows.

"There," Ichigo said, putting the last pillow on the fire escape landing, therefore making a suitable bed for the raven haired boy. "Now you'll be comfortable."

"Strawberry. Now." L commanded. "You promised me a strawberry." Ichigo nodded and held a finger to her lips, telling L to be quiet. She opened the door to her room, the rhythmic snores of her father echoing in the empty hall. She tip toed down the stairs, careful not to step on every third stair, knowing the loud creaking would wake up her parents. She slowly made it to the kitchen, the pitch black room posing as a serious problem for a superstitious five year old. But, knowing L was probably starving, much like herself, he needed the food more than her, so she pushed on into the dark abyss. She finally found the refrigerator door, slowly prying it open. Ichigo only took a minute to find the left over strawberries and snatch three of them, even though her mother would notice. She scampered upstairs, to her room and shut the door, all without making a sound. Sighing, Ichigo turned around to face L, who was still patiently waiting on the floor with the stuffed panda in front of him. Smiling, Ichigo held out her hands revealing the strawberries, giving L all three. He hungrily ate all of them, licking the sweet, sticky juice from his hands before looking back up at Ichigo.

"Can I have more?" Ichigo shook her head sadly.

"Not today, but tomorrow I'll give you half of my breakfast and leave you half of my lunch, that way we both can eat!" she said, her master plan to keep L as a brother going smoothly. "But, you have to stay outside all day, just in case one my parents comes in or something, but when I come home from school, I'll knock three times on the window." L nodded, the simplicity of the code easily comprehended by the six year old.

* * *

And that's how it went for the next month. Of course there were a few close calls, days without food for the both of them, and occasional slips going in and out of the window. But that all changed one day…

Ichigo was coming home from school, both of her parents were out at the minute, making it the perfect time to feed L and herself. She got a plate of fresh fruits and candy, though, it probably wasn't the best combination, it made L smile, even though it creeped Ichigo out a little. She hummed as she skipped down the hall to her room. Even though she heard the door to her house open and the voices of her parents, nothing could ruin her day. She closed the door to her room, locking it to make sure she wasn't interrupted. She walked up to the window and smiled, seeing L sleeping under the blankets for the first time. She knocked three times, not noticing the door knob of her room turning slowly. She opened the window and L's eyes flickered open and he stood up, a look of shock and horror present on his face. Ichigo turned around quickly, only to have a knife slash across her throat. She stumbled back, the upper half of herself hanging out the window. The plate of food fell to the floor and shattered, the fruit rolling across the ground. She let out a single choked command as blood stained her once white dress.

"L, run." She spluttered before her eyes rolled back in her head. L stood there, covered in Ichigo's blood, he also noticed the man whom he presumed to be her father and the woman her assumed was her mother sprawled out in a hallway, both with similarly slit throats. The figure above him was clad in black with a black hood obscuring its face. The bloody knife in its hand gleamed, but L was faster, he ran, and ran, until he couldn't see Ichigo's house anymore.

And he never looked back.

* * *

L crouched in his awkward position in front of his computer, absentmindedly biting the top of his thumb. He scanned the screen with his weary, yet alert obsidian eyes. His raven black hair was still a matted mess, spiking out in every direction. Suddenly, the screen went blank, and five simple words slowly appeared on the screen.

"**I am still here. – I." **L felt a small smile appearing on his face, even though he knew there were no computers in heaven.


End file.
